Biography
Dotan Appelbaum is an artist, furniture maker, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota (b. 1999), and currently based in Richmond, Virginia. He holds an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design with further background in painting and fine woodworking. Dotan brings a theory-oriented sociological approach to furniture design. Mining histories of design, as well as contemporary trends and precedents, he seeks to question and undermine how we understand our social relationship to furniture and craft. Dotan’s work most often exists as critical reproduction, reinterpreting historical precedents to better understand the present.
Dotan recently exhibited his first solo show, Severe Optimism, at Mercer University's McEachern Art Center. His work has been shown in NYC Design Week, Collectible Fair NYC, Scope Art Fair in Miami Beach, Design Week RI, various craft schools, and more. He has won numerous awards, including ‘Best in Show’ in the Innovation + Design Awards from the International Society of Furniture Designers and first place in the ‘Open Category’ in the Fresh Woods competition.
Artist Statement
I take a critical orientation towards design and craft with a sociological disposition. I am dedicated to unraveling the intricate tapestry of the built environment’s histories, dissecting the deep-seated ideologies shaping the design world. Currently, my practice is focused on discourses about ornamentation, their relationship to liberal capitalism, colonialism, and enlightenment teleologies of progress, as well as the enduring significance these logics and ideologies have on contemporary design. Through rigorous research, insightful writing, and innovative studio work, I challenge conventional norms, creating unique objects that question, subvert, and humorously dissect the historical underpinnings of design.